A Shoulder to Cry On
by hannah131
Summary: It's been a month since Kisara and Mahaado died. Seto is now Pharaoh, Mana is a High Priestess. Will their grief bring them together? Friendship fic, Seto x Mana


A Shoulder to Cry On  


Mana fiddled with the Sennen Ring, tears pouring down her cheeks. She was hiding in a large pot in the mummification room. She knew it was against the will of Anubis for her to be in a room intended for the dead, but she had to see him one more time. She had to see his perfect face that she had grown so used to one more time before they ruined it. Just thinking about his brain being pulled out through his nose and his intestines being ripped out of his stomach made her want to vomit. Her teacher… Her beloved Mahaado… The man that had taught her, protected her and liked her for who she was instead of just wanting her body, unlike so many other men, was dead.

Mana slowly stood up and pushed the lid of the pot off. She was sure she was the only living soul in the room. She quickly peered round the room, just to be sure she was alone, and stepped out of the pot, and saw three doors.

'_Mahaado's behind one of these doors. I'll check all of them_,' thought Mana. She pushed open the door on the far right, and stepped into a small room. On the wall were tools for mummification and in the middle of the room were two bodies lying on tables. Mana gasped, as she recognised one of them. It was the High Priestess, Aishizu! Mana walked over to the dead body and held her friend's hand. It was cold and limp. She choked back a sob. On the other table, was a beautiful woman, one whom she did not recognise.

'_She's lovely. I wonder what country she's from? Certainly not Egypt…'_ Mana looked at the woman. She had long, blue hair and skin as white as a cloud. She was tall and slim, but in rags.

'_She shouldn't be mummified looking like this,' _Mana thought, and took off her new headdress and placed it on the woman's head.

After one last look at the pretty woman, Mana scurried out the room, and pushed open the middle door. This room was the same as the last, only the bodies were two men. One was High Priest Karim, and the other was Mahaado. Mana rushed over to her teacher's body, and put her hand on his face.

'Teacher…' She whispered. 'I miss you! Please come back to me!'

Her eyes welled up with tears, and then she started to weep. She heard footsteps coming.

'Please listen Master,' She said in between sobs. 'I… I love you. When I die, I will fuse with the Illusion Magician Girl, and be the Black Magician Girl! I promise! I will repay you for the strength you have lent me in your absence!'

The footsteps were louder.

Mana slowly leaned forward and kissed her teacher's forehead. 'Forever your apprentice!' She managed to utter. There was a small window in the room, just low enough to climb out of, and just before the door creaked open, she jumped out the window, and landed in a heap in the banks of the Nile, covered in mud.

'Oh no!' The High Priestess muttered. 'Ra is setting!'

When the sun set, it was the time to dine. All six high priests would eat together, along with the Pharaoh. Mana had approximately five minutes to wash herself, dry herself, and dress herself.

Pharaoh Seto sat in the golden hall with five of his high priests, waiting for the slaves to bring food. The new holder of the Sennen Key tapped his foot impatiently.

'Where is that ruddy spellcaster?'

'Aw, give her a break…'

'You just think she's cute!'

'She is!'

Seto couldn't really care less where the girl was. The only thing he could think about was the fact that Kisara was being cut open and having her organs torn out. The other five priests were now arguing whom Mana liked best out of all of them.

At that moment, Mana ran into the hall, dripping wet.

'Sorry, sorry, sorry…' she mumbled. She turned to face Seto and bowed before sitting down.

'Speak of the devil,' Seto said.

They ate in silence. The holder of the Sennen Scales decided to break the silence.

'So, erm, the bodies of the old priests are being mummified today,' He said. Mana let out a small whimper. Seto pursed his lips.

'We all know.' Seto said. And there was no conversation for the rest of the meal.

Later that evening, Seto decided to go to the tablet of the White Dragon, and pay his respects to Kisara, and maybe, perhaps, Mahaado. Although they hadn't been fond of each other, Mahaado had entrusted Seto with a secret before he died, and Seto knew that deep down, they both cared for each other in a brotherly sort of way.

As he walked over to the tablet chamber, his thoughts wandered toward Mahaado and Mana. Before he died, Mana was never seen without him. She always clung onto his arm, and would skip next to him chatting aimlessly to him, hug him, defend him (in vain)… She was like his shadow. And when no one else was around, Seto knew that Mahaado would show that he cared for her too. He would compliment her and hug her, and tell her he never had a better apprentice. And before he died, he had given Mana to Seto. _'Clever,' _Seto thought. By giving Mana to him (and Mahaado knew Seto would take care of her) Mana could not be touched by anyone. By giving Mana the Sennen Ring, he gave her the position of a High Priestess, not only protecting Mana further, but also giving her power and the status of an Elite Spellcaster…

Seto walked into the chamber and prayed to the White Dragon… the spirit of the woman he loved. After doing that, he went to the Black Magician's tablet, but found someone else already there.

Mana jumped up, and then fell to her knees again.

'High Priest- I m-mean, Pharaoh, sorry, Pharaoh Seto, I…' Mana's voiced trailed off. Seto just looked at her through his icy blue eyes. He knelt down next to her.

'You deserve to know the truth,' He said.

'What?' Mana said, surprised that he was talking to her. 'I, I mean, about what?'

'About your teacher.'

'Mahaado?'

'Yes.'

A look of anxiety appeared on Mana's face.

'What- What about him?' Her voice echoed in the huge chamber.

Seto sighed. 'You know that he left you in my charge?'

Mana nodded.

'Well, not only that, but he also died for you.'

Mana fell down in shock. Seto rolled his eyes.

'That's not true. He died for Atemu!' Mana gabbled.

'No he didn't. He died for you. Bakura wanted to power up his Kaa, but needed a sacrifice to do so, a sacrifice that was purely innocent. The only person who was, and still is, _purely _innocent is you. So, he planned to use you as a sacrifice. Although your teacher won the shadow duel, by sacrificing himself, Diabound was powered up. No need to sacrifice you.'

By this time Mana was weeping.

'It's all my fault!' She wailed. Seto felt a lurch in his stomach… he felt compassion for her. He slowly and gingerly put an arm around her. In response, she flung her arms around him and sobbed into chest. Suddenly, Seto understood why Mahaado had cared so much for this girl.

'Mana, you must tell no-one that Mahaado died for you.'

Mana nodded. 'I-I promise I w-w-won't…'

Seto stood up and instinctively took the crying girl's hand. She clasped his hand with both of hers.

'I never told him I loved him…' Mana whispered.

'He knew,' Seto said.

'Just like you never told Kara you loved her,' Mana added.

'Kara? Kisara?'

'Yes, the white dragon!'

'No, I didn't…'

'So we're in the same boat.'

'It would seem so.'

And with that, they slowly put their arms around each other.

'We'll get through it… Together.'

The End 


End file.
